At home I have a Das Keyboard with Cherry MX browns and they feel great. I think this is the quickest I’ve been able to type on any keyboard.
I type a lot for my new job and no one cares if I bring in my own keyboard but for my coworkers sake, I don’t think I want to bring in browns. I’m a heavy typer and frankly I’m loud on browns.
I searched for quieter keys and found Cherry MX Red Silents (Durgod keyboard) but after typing on it a few days at work, I’m making way more mistakes, I’m typing slower, and my hands are more fatigued. That’s when I learned about linear vs tactile… I think tactile is what I need.
So with that, I’m looking for:
Need:
- Tactile
- Light switches (should not take much force to activate? idk. Browns are good for me, for reference)
- Quiet
- 100% layout
Want:
- Switches I can put the Draula keycaps on that my friend bought me. I just know they fit fine on Cherry MX Browns and Red Silent.
- USB-C port. I have a coiled cable I want to use already.
Nice to have:
- Hot swappable PCB
Open to other info I’m not thinking about.
Edit: After looking around some more this evening, I’m leaning toward grabbing a Keychron K10 Pro, grabbing some Zilents V2’s and sticking those in there, then popping on the caps I have. This would be the most building I’ve done for a keyboard. See any issues with that?
Update
Based on the recommendations here and some other threads I read, I went with a Keychron Q6 Max and the Zilent V2’s.
I confirmed that my poor speed and accuracy on the (previous) new board I had gotten was definitely due to my not being used to linears. After a day of using the new Keychron with Zilents I did a typing test and got a new PB.
Thanks for all the suggestions! Now I’m in trouble because I want to replace my home keyboard with the same…
For switches:
Durock Shrimp or Gazzew U4 switches for slightly on the premium side. If you feel .65 per switch is a bit much, I highly recommend Haimu Whisper (.30 cents per) or Wuque WS silents - not as thocky as Shrimp or U4 but more comfortable to type on, imo.
Gazzew Boba U4 62g is what you might be looking for. They are silent and VERY tactile.
I have them in one of my boards (although at 68g) and I enjoy typing on them. They are very quiet even with a PC plate.
Those look promising judging by videos. I will definitely consider them. Thanks!
I’ve got some Khail Coppers that are fairly quiet with low activation weight. My goal when getting them was to mimic the keypress of my MacBook.